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January 18
1800s *1887 - A new Kansas City club is founded to play in the Western League. The team vows to compete with the National League team in town. *1896 - Long before Marvin Miller and Curt Flood attacked the reserve clause, John Montgomery Ward, who has not played or managed for the last two seasons, objects to being reserved by the New York Giants. At the National League meeting in February his appeal is upheld, and Ward becomes a free agent. 1900 1910 1920s *1922 - The Chicago Cubs obtain outfielder Jigger Statz and pitcher Vic Aldridge from Los Angeles Angels (PCL) for eight players and cash consideration. 1930s *1934 - Future Hall of Fame member Dizzy Dean predicts that he and his brother Paul will lead the St. Louis Cardinals to the National League pennant. Dean will prove to be a man of his word, as the starting pitchers brothers will combine for 49 victories in helping the Cardinals reach the 1934 World Series. *1938 - Pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander is elected to the Hall of Fame, as the only player to get the required 75 percent of the Baseball Writers Association of America votes. In a 20-season major league career, Alexander posted a 373-208 record with 2198 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA, including 30 or more wins in three seasons. 1940s *1947 - The Detroit Tigers sell All-Star first baseman Hank Greenberg to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1946, Greenberg led the American League with 44 home runs and 127 RBI, but will slump to 25 home runs and 74 RBI with the Pirates. Greenberg will retire after the 1947 season. 1950 *1950 - Ace pitcher Bob Feller tells the Cleveland Indians that he should receive a cut in pay after a subpar 15-14 season in 1949. The Indians agree to the suggestion, cutting the future Hall of Famer’s pay by $20,000. Feller will receive a salary of $45,000 in 1950. *1952 - The Chicago White Sox accepts the resignation of general manager Charlie A. Comiskey, Jr. after his request for more money is refused. 1960s *1969 - The last-place Washington Senators names former Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams as their new manager. Williams signs a five-year contract worth a reported salary of $75,000 per season. Under his leadership, the Senators will finish with a record of 86-76, the best mark in the franchise’s history. 1970s *1973 - The Boston Red Sox sign veteran slugger Orlando Cepeda to be their first designated hitter. The Red Sox become the first team to sign a player specifically for the role of DH, a new rule that will go into effect in 1973. 1980 *1985 - In a four-team trade, the Milwaukee Brewers send catcher Jim Sundberg to the Kansas City Royals and receive pitchers Danny Darwin from the Texas Rangers and Tim Leary from the New York Mets. The Mets receive pitcher Frank Wills from Kansas City, who also send catcher Don Slaught to Texas, who send catcher Bill Hance to Milwaukee. 1990s *1994 - Major league owners approve a new revenue-sharing plan keyed to a salary cap, which requires the players’ approval. *1995 - Former major league umpire Ron Luciano dies at the age of 57. An American League umpire for 11 seasons, Luciano gained fame as one of the most colorful and flamboyant arbiters in the game’s history. *1999 - A fiberglass panel falls from the roof of Olympic Stadium in Montreal, home of the Expos, during the setup for an auto show. Five people are injured. 2000s *2001 - US President George W. Bush, in an interview with the Associated Press, says he is worried about baseball's labor contract, which expires on October 31. Bush, once managing partner of the Texas Rangers left the job to run for governor in 1994. He suggests, "Get rid of arbitration if possible and have, maybe, free agency occur at an earlier time, and if there's three shortstops and two bidders the price goes down, and vice versa, it goes up." *2002: **The Seattle Mariners avoid arbitration with pitcher Freddy García, who led the American League with a 3.05 ERA while posting a 18-6 record, by signing him to a one-year, $3.8-million deal. **Pitcher Kerry Wood, who had a 12-6 mark with a 3.36 ERA and struck out 217 batters in 174.1 innings, avoids arbitration agreeing a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs believed to be worth between $3.5 and 4 million. **Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Scott Rolen avoids arbitration signing the largest contract in team history, a $8.6 million, one-year deal. **Randomly selected from the crowd, Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Randy Winn sinks a half court-shot at a NBA Los Angeles Clippers' game to win a Mitsubishi Lancer. Winn played some college hoops at Santa Clara, California. *2005 - The New York Mets sign Carlos Beltrán to play center field for the next seven years. *2006: **Players who agreed to a one-year contract avoiding salary arbitration include: 2B Orlando Hudson and SS Alex Cintrón with the Arizona Diamondbacks; closer Brad Lidge and reliever Dan Wheeler with the Houston Astros; relievers Francisco Rodríguez and Scot Shields with the Los Angeles Angels; reliever Guillermo Mota with the Boston Red Sox; P Zach Day with the Colorado Rockies; P Ted Lilly with the Toronto Blue Jays; P Kip Wells with the Pittsburgh Pirates; P Aaron Harang wit the Cincinnati Reds; pitchers Runelvys Hernández and Jeremy Affeldt with the Kansas City Royals; pitchers Horacio Ramírez and Oscar Villarreal with the Atlanta Braves, and pitchers Erik Bedard, Bruce Chen and Todd Williams with the Baltimore Orioles along with OF Corey Patterson. **The Seattle Mariners and IF/OF Willie Bloomquist agreed to a two-year contract worth $1,525,000. **The Washington Nationals signed catcher Brian Schneider to a $16 million, four-year contract, and first baseman Nick Johnson to a $3.2 million, one-year deal. **Pitcher Danny Graves traveled a long way to find his roots. Just a baby when he left Vietnam in 1974, the Cleveland Indians reliever returned for the first time to glean a sense of the country and teach baseball to kids. **Third baseman Russell Branyan cleared waivers and was released by the Milwaukee Brewers. **Philadelphia Phillies GM Pat Gillick is realistic about Philadelphia's chances to compete for an NL East Division title. He knows the Phillies aren't quite good enough yet. **The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates were selected to play in the annual Hall of Fame Game, held this year on May 15 at Doubleday Field. Births *1899 - Eddie Moore, infielder (d. 1976) *1911 - Pinky May, All-Star infielder (d. 2000) *1932 - Mike Fornieles, All-Star pitcher (d. 1998) *1938 - Curt Flood, All-Star outfielder (d. 1997) *1944 - Carl Morton, pitcher (d. 1983) *1946 - Billy Grabarkewitz, All-Star infielder *1954 - Scott McGregor, All-Star pitcher *1964 - Brady Anderson, All-Star oufielder *1972 - Mike Lieberthal, All-Star catcher *1977 - Franklin Núñez, pitcher *1978 - Brian Falkenborg, pitcher *1979 - Wandy Rodríguez, pitcher Deaths *1974 - Pete Appleton, pitcher (b. 1904) *1984 - Leo Kiely, pitcher (b. 1929) *1995 - Ron Luciano, umpire (b. 1937)